The Abbey Theatre and the Irish Literary Revival

The History of Ireland: Rebellion, Empire, and Independence — Fexingo History · Jul 30, 2026 · 6m · transcript

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Irish Literary Revival, a cultural movement that reshaped national identity in the decades before independence. They focus on the founding of the Abbey Theatre in 1904 by W.B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, and J.M. Synge, whose play 'The Playboy of the Western World' sparked riots in 1907. The conversation covers the Gaelic League's role, the revival of Irish folklore, and how theatre became a battleground for defining what it meant to be Irish. They discuss key figures like Douglas Hyde, the controversies over stage Irishry, and the…